Tools for working with heat sources, including grills, ovens, ranges, etc., typically have handles separated by long extensions from a functional end. Such extensions permit interaction with food or other material at dangerous or uncomfortable temperatures or smoking conditions by allowing a user to directly manipulate contents of the heat source with an end of the tool at a distance. For example, known tools include functional ends, like spatulas or tongs, separated from a handle by a lengthy shaft. Such tools permit users to handle, flip, grasp, cut, mix, or otherwise manipulate or interact with food or other materials in direct contact with the heat source at a distance with less risk of burn or discomfort or injury to the user from the heat source.
In order to preserve space when not in use, tools can be extendable and collapsible, having a shaft that extends from and retracts to a handle that permits a user to adjust a degree of length of the tool. In this way, an extendable spatula, for example, can be lengthened by extending its shaft from a handle so as to permit manipulation at a distance. The same shaft can be collapsed to the handle to provide a desired shorter handle-to-spatula distance for storage or other manipulation of food where distance from a heat source is not desired.